AUSTIN, Texas – Lawmakers in the Texas Senate just gave the latest green light to H.B. 2000 - better known as “Audrii’s Law”- named after the 11-year-old Livingston girl murdered by a family friend in 2024.
The legislation, which Rep. Trent Ashby filed, already received unanimous approval from the Texas House of Representatives in March.
On Tuesday, the Texas Senate Committee on Criminal Justice held a public hearing on the bill, among others.
PREVIOUS: ‘Audrii’s Law’ passes unanimously in the Texas House, heads to Senate
During that session, the Criminal Justice committee unanimously voted to move Audrii’s Law to a full Texas Senate vote.
“This bill carries the weight of the devastating tragedy in East Texas,” said Sen. Robert Nichols. “This legislation was filed in response to the heartbreaking call of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham, a young girl from Polk County whose life was taken from her too soon.”
The bill aims to expand the crimes for which a convicted suspect will be required to register as a sex offender. If approved, the law would make sex offender registration requirements for the offense of child grooming.
Named after Audrii Cunningham, who was 11 years old when Don Steven McDougal brutally murdered the girl.
“[The] suspect, who was later than charged and pled guilty, had a lengthy criminal history,” said Andy Kahan, the Director of Victim Services for Crime Stoppers of Houston. “The family, due to their faith, took him in and allowed him to live on their premises, hoping that his past would be the past. They checked his sex offender registry and found nothing there.”
McDougal was a family friend living in a trailer behind her grandparents’ house near Lake Livingston.
After an exhaustive search, which included local, state, and federal law enforcement resources, Audrii’s body was found weighted down in the Trinity River.
“10 days after her 11th birthday, she was kidnapped, sexually assaulted, murdered, and tied to a rock,” Kahan said.
WATCH: Finding Audrii: A story of tragic loss and lasting legacy
In January, McDougal agreed to a plea deal to spend the rest of his life in prison, without the opportunity for parole.
McDougal had a previous conviction for a sex crime involving a minor but avoided having to register as a sex offender after taking a plea deal years earlier. Audrii’s grandparents say they may never have allowed him to live in a trailer on their property had they known about his past.
Audrii’s Law aims to change that.
“[The] Sex Offender Registry is one of the only tools that parents and grandparents have to protect innocent little angels like Audrii from predators,” Kahan said.
At a public hearing in front of Texas House lawmakers in March, Audrii’s family made an emotional plea with lawmakers.
“My granddaughter was the most loving child I’ve ever met,” Audrii’s grandmother, Tabitha Munsch, said. “Had this bill been in place, had this loophole existed, he would never be near our sweet baby. I’m not asking, I’m begging that we close this loophole.”
SEE ALSO: The hidden dangers of lapsed sex offender registrations
“We know this incident had far far-reaching impact across East Texas, our community, the whole great State of Texas,” added Audrii’s grandfather, Philip Munsch. “It’s a case that touched so many hearts, and Audrii was just a charming young lady, lots of potential. Because of a loophole, her life was taken away far too early.”
Audrii’s family was unable to be in Austin for the hearing on Tuesday, but Kahan spoke during the hearing, urging lawmakers to ensure something like this would not happen again.
“I’m asking you to please vote the bill out, get it to the Senate, get it for the governor, and let’s protect kids in the State of Texas,” Kahan said.
The bill will now go to a full Texas Senate vote. If approved, it will then be sent to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk to be signed into law.
